http://www.openstreetmap.org/images/osm_logo.png" alt=""> OpenStreetMap (openstreetmap.org) is a global collaborative mapping project, which offers maps and map data released with an open license, encouraging free re-use and re-distribution. The data is created by a large community of volunteers who use a variety of simple on-the-ground surveying techniques, and wiki-syle editing tools to collaborate as they create the maps, in a process which is open to everyone. The project originated in London, and an active community of mappers and developers are based here. Mapping work in London is ongoing (and you can help!) but the coverage is already good enough for many uses.

Browse the map of London on OpenStreetMap.org

Downloads:

The whole of England updated daily:

• england.osm.bz2 ~185M - .osm formatted raw XML data (compressed)
• england.shp.zip ~156M - ESRI shapefiles

For more details of downloads available from OpenStreetMap, including downloading the whole planet, see 'planet.osm' on the wiki.

Data access APIs:

Download small areas of the map by bounding-box. For example this URL requests the data around Trafalgar Square:
http://api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/map?bbox=-0.13062,51.5065,-0.12557,51.50969

Data filtered by "tag". For example this URL returns all elements in London tagged shop=supermarket:
http://www.informationfreeway.org/api/0.6/*[shop=supermarket][bbox=-0.48,51.30,0.21,51.70]

The .osm format

The format of the data is a raw XML represention of all the elements making up the map. OpenStreetMap is composed of interconnected "nodes" and "ways" (and sometimes "relations") each with a set of name=value pairs called "tags". These classify and describe properties of the elements, and ultimately influence how they get drawn on the map. To understand more about tags, and different ways of working with this data format refer to the following pages on the OpenStreetMap wiki.

• .osm - About the raw XML data format of OpenStreetMap
• Downloading data - More details of the API and extract download options
• Xapi - The extended api for filtering by tag
• Map Features - A list of tags, and what map features they represent
• Converting map data between formats - catalogue of tools for converting from .osm to other formats

Simple embedded maps

Rather than working with raw map data, you may prefer to embed maps from OpenStreetMap on your website with a simple bit of javascript. You can also present overlays of other data, in a manner very similar to working with google maps. In fact you can even use the google maps API to do this. See OSM on your own website for details and links to various javascript map libraries.

Help build the map!

The OpenStreetMap project aims to attract large numbers of contributors who all chip in a little bit to help build the map. Although the map editing tools take a little while to learn, they are designed to be as simple as possible, so that everyone can get involved. This project offers an exciting means of allowing local London communities to take ownership of their part of the map.

Read about how to Get Involved and see the London page for details of OpenStreetMap community events.

This is a collection of simple maps in PDF format that are designed to be printed off and used in the classroom. The include maps of Great Britain that show the location of major rivers, cities and mountains as well as maps of continents and the World. There is very little information on the maps to allow teachers to download them and add their own content to fit with their lesson plans. Customise one print out then photocopy them for your lesson. data not available yet, holding data set (7th August). Other. This dataset was first accessioned in the EDINA ShareGeo Open repository on 2012-08-07 and migrated to Edinburgh DataShare on 2017-02-22.

The RPA CROME GOP is a simple point dataset, that marks the location of observations made by surveyors in a sample of parcels and records the land cover according to set criteria. It has been maintained by RPA Geospatial Services since 2015. RPA currently collects ground observation data from the following source: • Agricultural parcels eligible for the Control with Remote Sensing (CwRS) element of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), and that fall within zones selected for monitoring claims. The locations and size of these zones vary from year to year. The field surveys for are carried out on RPA’s behalf by Cyient Europe Ltd. They have been acquired for both Control with Remote Sensing (CwRS) and for Commons Eligibility Mapping programmes that have been completed during the year. The points are attributed with: • Parcel reference ID (as with RPA Parcel Points) • Crop or land cover observed to be / have been growing at that location • Date of observation • Whether observations were made by RPA or an external surveyor • Any additional comments Two versions will be made available: one with photos of the land cover attached (RPA_CROME_GOP_2023_FULL) and the other with them removed (RPA_CROME_GOP_2023_Basic).
The data for the CwRS programme is used in the production of the Crop Map of England (CROME) which is publicly available and has historically been used as part of CwRS for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). It is intended that releasing the ground observations would benefit research in automation, machine learning, and our national food production. RPA’s GOP use the Open Government Licence v3.0 as used by other publicly accessible data on the Defra Data Services Platform and would be updated approximately every year, subject to the continuation of current policies.

Colourful and easy to use, Bartholomew’s maps became a trademark series. The maps were popular and influential, especially for recreation, and the series sold well, particularly with cyclists and tourists. To begin with, Bartholomew printed their half-inch maps in Scotland as stand-alone sheets known as 'District Sheets' and by 1886 the whole of Scotland was covered. They then revised the maps into an ordered set of 29 sheets covering Scotland in a regular format. This was first published under the title Bartholomew’s Reduced Ordnance Survey of Scotland. The half-inch maps of Scotland formed the principal content for Bartholomew's Survey Atlas of Scotland published in 1895. Bartholomew then moved south of the Border to the more lucrative but competitive market in England and Wales, whilst continuing to revise the Scottish sheets. This Bartholomew series at half-inch to the mile, covered Great Britain in 62 sheets in the 1940s, Bartholomew’s first to cover Great Britain at this scale (their previous series covering Scotland and then England and Wales). The series provides an attractive and useful snapshot of 1940s Britain. By this time, Bartholomew had altered the range of information on their maps compared to the 1900s. There were more categories of roads, Ministry of Transport road numbers were added, and new recreational features such as Youth Hostels and Golf Courses. Bartholomew’s topographic information was gathered partly from original Ordnance Survey maps, and partly from information sent in to Bartholomew from map users. One important user community for Bartholomew were cyclists. From the 1890s, Bartholomew entered into a formal relationship with the Cyclists’ Touring Club, then numbering around 60,500 cyclists, proposing that club members supplied Bartholomew with up-to-date information. In return, Bartholomew provided the CTC with discounted half-inch maps. The relationship worked very well, turning CTC members into an unofficial surveying army, feeding back reliable and accurate topographical information which Bartholomew would then use to update their maps. You can read more about this and see selected letters from cyclists at: http://digital.nls.uk/bartholomew/duncan-street-explorer/cyclists-touring-club.html.

Usually Bartholomew made revisions the sheets right up to the time of publication, so the date of publication is the best guide to the approximate date of the features shown on the map. You can view the dates of publication for the series at: https://maps.nls.uk/series/bart_half_great_britain.html

The data shows the location of seabed and sub-seabed samples collected from the UK continental shelf, held by BGS. A BGS Sample Station is a general location at which sampling with one or more equipment types, such as borehole, grab, dredge, has been used. Historically, all deployment of equipment was recorded with the same coordinates so the data shown here will often show several sets of data at the same location. Newer data will begin to show distinct locations based on an equipment type. This layer shows all the BGS Sample Station Locations, including those where the Sampling was unsuccessful. The layers below are divided into distinct equipment types, plus a separate layer for unsuccessful sampling. BGS Sample Station Locations can have a wide range of potential information available. This can vary from a basic description derived from a simple piece of paper up to a complex set of information with a number of datasets. These datasets can include particle size analysis, geotechnical parameters, detailed marine geology, geochemical analysis and others. Prices are available on further enquiry.

A PDF map that shows the counties and unitary authorities in the United Kingdom as at 1 April 2023. (File Size - 583 KB)

Data from the British Geological Survey's GeoIndex Map products theme are made available for viewing here. GeoIndex is a website that allows users to search for information about BGS data collections covering the UK and other areas world wide. Access is free, the interface is easy to use, and it has been developed to enable users to check coverage of different types of data and find out some background information about the data. More detailed information can be obtained by further enquiry via the web site: www.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex.

Soilscapes is a 1:250,000 scale, simplified soils dataset covering England and Wales. It was created from the far more detailed National Soil Map (NATMAP Vector) held by Cranfield University, with the purpose of communicating effectively a general understanding of the variations which occur between soil types, and how soils affect the environment and landscape of the two countries. Soil exerts a strong influence on our whole ecosystem, being the foundation for many of the ecosystem services and functions recognised, and is a fragile resource that needs to be understood and protected.Soilscapes is one of our most popular datasets - and to encourage a wider understanding of soils, web access to this data is now made freely accessible. Soilscapes does away with confusing terminology, enabling informed decision-making by non-soil scientists who need to understand soil and how it affects broad landscapes. Using the Soilscapes web mapping service, it is simple to build up a good understand of many fundamental soil-landscape processes for any region across England and Wales.For more information about soils and soils data please visit the LandIS - Land Information System www.landis.org.uk

This layer of the map based index (GeoIndex) shows areas covered by explanatory sheet Memoirs, along with basic information such as memoir title and publication date. The memoirs themselves,compiled by BGS geologists, date from the late 1890s to present day and provide a comprehensive and detailed account of all aspects of the geology of the areas covered by the 1:50,000 (and 1:63,360) map series. Some memoirs may cover more than one geological sheet area and a few cover key geological themes (eg Jurassic rocks) across a large region. Sheet Descriptions are fully colour-illustrated, shortened accounts of the geology that are available for some of the newer published geological sheets.

This SRTM Slope Map was created from level 1 SRTM NASA data which was cleaned and had holes patched. The slope map was created in ArcMap (presumably using the simple 3x3 nearest neighbour method). The data does not include the Shetland Islands as SRTM data becomes unreliable at 60N. The cell size is close to 90m. Data was acquired between the 11th - 20th Feb 2000. SRTM Slope Map was created from level 1 SRTM NASA data, slope map generated in ArcGIS using a basic nearest neighbour approach. Digital Terrain Model. This dataset was first accessioned in the EDINA ShareGeo Open repository on 2010-06-30 and migrated to Edinburgh DataShare on 2017-02-20.

This layer of the map based index (GeoIndex) shows the location and name of active mineral workings in the UK and is derived from the BGS BritPits (British Pits) database. The BritPits database of onshore mineral workings in the UK is based on the records of the BGS, the Coal Authority, industry sources and the Valuation Office Agency (Minerals) and is maintained by the BGS Onshore Minerals and Energy Resources Programme. The database describes individual workings, both currently active and formerly worked, in terms of name, location (including Mineral Planning Authority), ownership, basic geology, commodity produced and end-uses. Contact details including the operator name, address, postcode and telephone and fax numbers are held where known. The location of over 6000 workings are held, with about 2000 currently being worked. The data can be produced digitally, under licence, in formats to meet customer requirements, such as locations of workings or operator addresses, and is suitable for use in GIS applications using the British National Grid. Although the GeoIndex is updated at regular intervals more information may be available than is shown at any one time.

In the century between Napoleon's defeat and the outbreak of the First World War (known as the "Pax Britannica"), the British Empire grew to become the largest and most powerful empire in the world. At its peak in the 1910s and 1920s, it encompassed almost one quarter of both the world's population and its land surface, and was known as "the empire on which the sun never sets". The empire's influence could be felt across the globe, as Britain could use its position to affect trade and economies in all areas of the world, including many regions that were not part of the formal empire (for example, Britain was able to affect trading policy in China for over a century, due to its control of Hong Kong and the neighboring colonies of India and Burma). Some historians argue that because of its economic, military, political and cultural influence, nineteenth century Britain was the closest thing to a hegemonic superpower that the world ever had, and possibly ever will have. "Rule Britannia" Due to the technological and logistical restrictions of the past, we will never know the exact borders of the British Empire each year, nor the full extent of its power. However, by using historical sources in conjunction with modern political borders, we can gain new perspectives and insights on just how large and influential the British Empire actually was. If we transpose a map of all former British colonies, dominions, mandates, protectorates and territories, as well as secure territories of the East India Trading Company (EIC) (who acted as the precursor to the British Empire) onto a current map of the world, we can see that Britain had a significant presence in at least 94 present-day countries (approximately 48 percent). This included large territories such as Australia, the Indian subcontinent, most of North America and roughly one third of the African continent, as well as a strategic network of small enclaves (such as Gibraltar and Hong Kong) and islands around the globe that helped Britain to maintain and protect its trade routes. The sun sets... Although the data in this graph does not show the annual population or size of the British Empire, it does give some context to how Britain has impacted and controlled the development of the world over the past four centuries. From 1600 until 1920, Britain's Empire expanded from a small colony in Newfoundland, a failing conquest in Ireland, and early ventures by the EIC in India, to Britain having some level of formal control in almost half of all present-day countries. The English language is an official language in all inhabited continents, its political and bureaucratic systems are used all over the globe, and empirical expansion helped Christianity to become the most practiced major religion worldwide. In the second half of the twentieth century, imperial and colonial empires were eventually replaced by global enterprises. The United States and Soviet Union emerged from the Second World War as the new global superpowers, and the independence movements in longstanding colonies, particularly Britain, France and Portugal, gradually succeeded. The British Empire finally ended in 1997 when it seceded control of Hong Kong to China, after more than 150 years in charge. Today, the United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries, and it is responsible for three crown dependencies and fourteen overseas territories, although the legacy of the British Empire can still be seen, and it's impact will be felt for centuries to come.

This map of the soils of England is a simplified version of the National Soil Map and has been produced by the National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI) of Cranfield University with support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It shows, in simple terms, what the likely soil conditions are at any point in the landscape by reference to one of 27 different broad types of soil

The non-gas map is a detailed map of Great Britain showing the distribution of properties without a gas grid connection across local authorities, LSOAs (lower-level super output areas) and, for registered users, postcodes. It also provided a wealth of ...

These are digital boundaries for the system of districts essentially created by the 1894 Local Government Act and continuing to exist until 1974. England and Wales were divided into County Boroughs, Municipal Boroughs, Urban Districts and Rural Districts. These generally functioned as sub-divisions of Administrative Counties with powers varying according to status, but County Boroughs were large cities with full independence from their County. The County of London was divided into Metropolitan Boroughs, plus the City of London which had the unique status of County Corporate. This file represents the system as it was used to report the 1931 Census of Population. To distinguish between identical place names with different administrative geographies, an Administrative County Boundaries layer may be used to add County name attributes to this layer. Statistical data and other information used in “A Vision of Britain through Time” can be accessed here: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data.

OverviewNatural England and the Environment Agency have collaborated to produce a seagrass layer for English waters, which aims to provide a comprehensive geospatial dataset of surveys of both current and historical spatial seagrass. The layer identifies a current seagrass extent; using the best and most recent available evidence and agreed by both organisations.These datasets have been provided by NE and the EA, as well as a number of third parties. Details of these third parties can be found in the accompanying metadata file.CaveatsThere are two genera of seagrass present in English waters: Ruppia sp. and Zostera sp. Commonly the use of ‘seagrass’ only refers to Zostera sp. (also known as Eelgrass). However, this dataset includes both Ruppia sp. and Zostera sp. If using the layer file, Ruppia sp. are identified by differing symbology. In the raw attribute data, Ruppia sp. and Zostera sp. can be distinguished using the EUNIS codes in the HAB_TYPE field.Seagrass data is only available where and when surveys have been carried out. Therefore, absence of seagrass in a specific year does not necessarily indicate that seagrass was not present, it may simply mean that no survey was completed that year. Similarly, there may be locations where seagrass is present, but has not been surveyed, and therefore is not represented in this dataset, such as the Medway Estuary.The seagrass layer only includes polygon data. There may be additional seagrass habitats which only have point data available, these are not included in the seagrass layer.Identified polygon extents may be affected by survey method. For example, a walking survey may not collect data below a certain depth, and a DDV survey from a boat may not collect data above a certain depth. A survey method field is included in the data, to ensure this can be accounted for.As data is collected from/using a variety of sources and methods the accuracy of the data varies. A data confidence field is supplied to provide an indication of confidence in the data accuracy. Confidence categories are assigned based on expert judgement and local knowledge. Some historical data has a particularly low confidence and may be assigned with a category of ‘presence only’. Polygons with this confidence should only be used to identify previous seagrass presence, they should not be used to identify previous seagrass extent.MetadataThis dataset contains a collation of current and historic seagrass data by Natural England and the Environment Agency. This includes data collected or commissioned by Natural England, the Environment Agency, or provided by third parties that have allowed their data to be republished under the Open Government Licence (OGL). The dataset identifies a current extent of seagrass which used the best available evidence and has been agreed by both Natural England and the Environment Agency. Before carrying out any analyses using this layer, the associated README file, which provides a list of dataset caveats, should be read. Seagrass beds are an important resource for both carbon storage and biodiversity. They are a designated feature in a number of Marine Protected Areas, used to inform ecological assessment as part of the Water Framework Directive, and are the focus of habitat restoration schemes such as the LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES project.This dataset contains records that qualify as open and therefore can be published under the Open Government Licence (OGL). These records are extracted and collated from the Environment Agency Seagrass Database and Natural England Marine Evidence Base (MEB), is a collated database of both NE and 3rd party surveys. All non-seagrass habitats are excluded from the Seagrass Layer, and datasets are clipped to English waters only. The Environment Agency WFD Areas dataset is used identify which area each seagrass bed lies within. Extraction of data from the NE Marine Evidence Base is based on the dataset identifier, access limitations and data owner as defined within the Marine Metadatabase to ensure that only open datasets are included in the open version. A full list of the survey datasets used in the production of this dataset can be found in the Survey Metadata sheet included with the download.Attribution Statement: © Natural England © Environment Agency. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2022 Contains data from © Joint Nature Conservation Committee © North Eastern Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority 2017 © Yorkshire Wildlife Trust © Cornwall County Council © Harwich Haven Authority.The MAGiC version also includes data not included in the download file from © Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife. Full metadata can be viewed on data.gov.uk.

LIDAR is an airborne terrain mapping system, which uses a laser to measure the distance between the aircraft and the ground. This technique results in the production of cost effective terrain maps with a height accuracy of 10 to 15cm. Typically with spot heights between 1 to 4 metres spatially on the land surface. CASI is used to provide information on the colour of the environment. It is designed to provide a flexible system which is easy to transport and straightforward to install and operate in small aircraft. It can be used for detailed studies of the spectral characteristics of ground or water targets, which are imaged instantaneously in a large number of spectral wavebands (up to 288), covering the visible and near infra-red regions of the spectrum, between 430 nm and 870 nm. Spatial resolution can be varied from one to ten metres, depending on the flying altitude and lens configuration. New LIDAR and CASI data sets are being gathered from parts of England and Wales all the time. For details on coverage and extent contact the National Centre.

BGS soil property data layers including parent material, soil texture, group, grain size, thickness and European Soil Bureau description at 1km resolution. A 1:50,000 scale version of this data is available for a licence fee. A parent material is a soil-science name for a weathered rock or deposit from, and within which a soil has formed. In the UK, parent materials provide the basic foundations and building blocks of the soil, influencing their texture, structure, drainage and chemistry. Soils are the result of weathering processes that occur on the Earth’s surface where the atmosphere meets the geosphere and hydrosphere. We live in this ‘critical zone’ relying on our soils to grow our food and sustain the biodiversity and health of our environment.The Soil Parent Material Model details the distribution of physiochemical properties of the weathered and unweathered parent materials of the UK to:facilitate spatial mapping of UK soil propertiesidentify soils and landscapes sensitive to erosionprovide a national overview of our soil resourcedevelop a better understanding of weathering properties and processesFind out more at www.bgs.ac.uk. Contact BGS at bgsdata@bgs.ac.uk if you create something new and innovative that could benefit others.

This dataset is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood. This bundle includes the Basic subset of layers from our Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) mapping, previously known as the updated Flood Map for Surface Water (uFMfSW). It is a group of datasets previously available as the uFMfSW Complex Package. The Basic subset includes the following layers: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 0.1 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 1 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 3.3 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Input Model DetailsRisk of Flooding from Surface Water Suitability

InformationWarnings: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water is not to be used at property level. If the Content is displayed in map form to others we recommend it should not be used with basemapping more detailed than 1:10,000 as the data is open to misinterpretation if used as a more detailed scale. Because of the way they have been produced and the fact that they are indicative, the maps are not appropriate to act as the sole evidence for any specific planning or regulatory decision or assessment of risk in relation to flooding at any scale without further supporting studies or evidence. Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology © NERC (CEH). Defra, Met Office and DARD Rivers Agency © Crown copyright. © Cranfield University. © James Hutton Institute. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2015. Land & Property Services © Crown copyright and database right.This partner version can be downloaded from environment.data.gov.uk.

Soil total nitrogen concentration is a basic measurement of soil fertility. Along with soil organic carbon, it plays a key role in the processes of soil formation. Not all of the nitrogen locked up in organic matter in soils, such as peat, is available for plant growth. However, soil nitrogen is important for agricultural productivity. Nitrogen leached from soils can also adversely affect water quality.See the report here >>Download the data here >>This suite of ten maps, of different aspects of natural capital, contributes to our understanding of where our natural capital is. The maps have been produced using a range of datasets, including CEH sample data from the Countryside Survey (2007). CEH’s Ecomaps tool has been used to produce maps at an England level through statistical interpretation and extrapolation from the sample data.